Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has extended the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) for regularisation of excess load on agricultural tubewell connections by another 45 days, providing additional relief to farmers.
Announcing the decision, Punjab Power Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said the scheme, which was initially scheduled to end on November 14, 2026, will now remain in force till December 29, 2026.
Sond said the scheme was launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to provide farmers with an affordable opportunity to regularise unauthorised excess load on their agricultural tubewell connections as per the prescribed rules.
He said the government has also reduced the financial burden on farmers by bringing down service connection charges from ₹6,572 to ₹2,500 per brake horsepower (BHP). Similarly, the security deposit has been reduced from ₹400 to ₹200 per BHP.
Another major provision of the scheme is that no penalty or load surcharge will be imposed on unauthorised excess load during its validity. The exemption will apply both to excess load voluntarily declared by farmers and to cases detected during departmental inspections.
The scheme was initially implemented for 45 days, from October 1 to November 14, 2026. With the latest extension, eligible agricultural tubewell consumers will now have time until December 29 to regularise their excess load.
The Power Minister urged farmers to take advantage of the extended deadline and complete the regularisation process within the stipulated period.
